Material spreading machine



Nov. in, 1941.,

' B. H. FLYNN MATERIAL SPREADING MACHINE Filed Nov. 7, 194.0 5 sheets-sheet 1 WITNES3 Nov. 11,1941; B. H. FLYNN 2,261,934

MATERIAL SPREADING MACHINE Filed Nov. 7, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet s r f lififlgnin w-wm 5 5 a z W WW B. H. FLYNN MATERIAL SPREADING MACHINE Nov. 11, 1941.

5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. '7, 1940 W N :99 Jiwwwe Patented Nov. 11, 1941 UNETED OFIQE The invention relates to machines for spreading various kinds of materials upon the ground, and the machine finds its primary use in spreading one or more materials upon the grade of a roadway to be mixed with the natural earth of the grade for highway construction. The machine is of particular advantage in spreading a uniform layer of dry hydraulic cement upon the natural earth, to be mixed therewith in constructing soil-cement roadways, although other materials such as sand or gravel may be spread equally well with the machine, and in one form of construction, a lower layer of sand and/or gravel, and an upper layer of dry hydraulic cement, may be simultaneously spread.

One object of the invention is to provide a novel machine which will advantageously handle dry hydraulic cement and deposit same in a layer of uniform thickness upon the ground.

Another object is to provide a machine in 7 which the dry hydraulic cement cannot become packed to interfere with proper discharge, but

will be kept loose and fiufiy.

Yet another object is to provide a structure which prohibits any loss of cement by sifting through unsealed spaces.

A still further object is to provide a machine.

in which a gate for the material outlet is automatically closed when the material discharging means is stopped, and in this connection, another aim is to provide for automatic opening of the gate when the feed is again started.

A still further object is to provide a machine of comparatively simple and inexpensive construction, yet one which will be highly efficient and durable.

With the foregoing and minor objects in view, the invention resides in the novel subject mat-' ter hereinafter described and claimed, description being accomplished by reference to the ac Figure 6 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the machine shown in Fig. 5.

Figure '7 is an elevation partly in longitudinal section showing the machine of Figs. 5 and 6 as- .sociated with a power-driven machine which works the spread materials into the earth of a road grade, and thoroughly mixes them.

In Figs. 1 to 4, l0 denotes a bottomless box mounted upon land Wheels H and having a suitable tongue or the like l2 by means of which it may be drawn over the ground.

The box Ill includes longitudinal side walls l3, a front end wall l4 and a rear end wall l5, all preferably formed from metal suitably secured together. Mounted under this box is an endless belt N5 of continuous sheet material, such as ordinary rubber and canvas belting. The edge portions of the belt l6 extend under the side walls I3 and project laterally beyond said side walls to some extent as seen more particularly in Fig.-

4. Suitable rollers l1 and I8 are provided, at the front and rear portions of the machine to guide the belt, and the roller I3 is driven by means hereinafter described, to drive said belt. If desired, one or more other rollers l9 may be danger of the dry hydraulic cement or other finepowder-like material sifting out between the up-- per belt reach l6 and the lower edges 13' of the,

box side walls [3, I provide other belts or ribs 22 of more or less square cross section, said belts or ribs being secured to the outer side of the belt l6. directly opposite the V-belts 20 and being disposed in sliding contact with the outer sides of 7 said side walls [3.

To prevent any waste of material between the lower end of. the front wall [4 and the belt I6, I secure a strip of belting orthe lik 23 to said wall, said strip extending downwardly and inwardly and lying slidably upon the upper belt reach [6.

The rear wall l5 terminates above the belt reach IE to provide a discharge opening 24, and

I slidably mount a vertical plate 25 upon the inner side of said wall l5 for adjustment into more or less spaced relation with the upper belt reach it leaving a space between the two equal to the thickness of the layer of material which is to be spread upon the ground. Any desired means, such as screws 26 may be employed for vertically adjusting the plate 25, and I have shown this plate connected by bolt and slot connections 21 with the rear box wall I5. The lower portion of the plate 25 is curved inwardly and downwardly as shown at 28, and the belt [6 of course feeds the dry hydraulic cement or other material toward said plate. When handling a loose powder, notably dry hydraulic cement, the plate portion 28 causes said powder to roll upwardly and inwardly as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2. Thus, the cement or the like in the region of said plate portion 28 is kept loose and fluffy and the rolling action in this zone spreads to other zones, preventing the cement or the like from packing and insuring that it shall remain loose and fluffy for proper discharge.

A pivoted gate 29 is provided to entirely close the material outlet 24 when the belt I6 is stopped, preventing any of the material from shaking through the outlet during travel of the machine, and I make novel provision whereby the closing of thisgate is effected automatically when the belt drive is severed, and whereby said gate is automatically opened, when belt driving is resumed, all of which will be hereinafter explained.

Suitably mounted on the rear wall l of the box 10, I have shown two axially alined shafts 36 and 3|, the shaft 3| being driven by one of the wheels I l, for example, by a sprocket chain 32 and appropriate sprockets 33. The shaft 30 is operatively connected with the roller I8 to drive the belt Hi. In the present disclosure, one end of the roller shaft 34 is connected by sprocket chain 35 and sprockets 36 with a short shaft 31 driven by gearing 38 from the shaft 30. This shaft 35 is provided with a shiftable clutch member 39 engageable with another clutch member 48 on'the shaft 3|, said clutch member 39 being shiftable by means of an appropriate lever 4!. Suitable means 42 may be employed to hold this lever in clutch-in and clutch-out positions. By simply swinging the lever 4| to one position or the other, the belt lfi may be stopped or started as required.

I have shown a vertical shaft 43 mounted in appropriatebearings 44 behind the rear end wall I5 of the box Hi, the upper and lower ends of said shaft being provided with crank arms 45 and 46 respectively. The arm 46 is linked at 41 to the gate 29, and the arm 45 is linked at 46 to the lever 4|. The arrangement is such that when lever 4! is swung to stop the belt 16, the gate 29 is automatically closed, and when said lever is swung to cause driving of the belt, said gate is automatically opened. The side walls l3 are provided with two substantially triangular downwardly projecting portions 419 at the ends of the gate 29 to prevent any sifting out of material which would otherwise occur between the downwardly extending rear portion of the belt II, and the closed gate. It will be observed that this gate closes directly against the belt (see Fig. 2), providing a tight seal at this point. Similar seals are provided by means of the flexible strip 23 on the front wall I 4 and the ribs 22 on the belt l6 contacting slidably with the box side walls l3,

In Figs. 5, 6 and '7, a double form of the machine is shown, capable of simultaneously depositing two layers of material upon the ground, for example, a lower layer of sand or gravel and an upper layer or dry hydraulic cement. A box 50 is provided to be suitably carried by a machine 5! (Fig. '7) which works the said materials into the grade of a roadway and thoroughly mixes said materials, said machine preferably having a rotary cutter 52 to work the materials into the grade and more or less pulverize the latter at the same time, and a rotary mixer 53 which works the loose materials back and forth and thoroughly mixes them.

The box 56 comprises side walls 54, a front wall 55, a rear wall 56, and a transverse partition 51, said partition dividing the box into front and rear compartments 0 and C to contain different materials. For example, in constructing a soilcement road, the compartment C may contain sand and/or gravel and the compartment C dry hydraulic cement. The materials may be dumped into the compartments from trucks, and to facilitate loading of the compartment C the partition 51 is preferably hinged at 58 to swing into the compartment C as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6. Suitable provision, such as cables 59 wound on drums .60 on a cranked shaft 6|, may be employed for restoring said partition to its normal position. Endless belts 62 and 63 are provided to support the contents of the compartments C and C and to feed said contents out in the formv of layers to be deposited in superposed relation upon the ground or grade. Front and rear rollers 64 and 65 are shown for the belt 62 and similar rollers 66 and 61 are illustrated for the belt 63, and if desired, idle rollers 68 may be employed between 64 and 65, and other idlers 69 between 66 and 61. Roller 6'! is driven by power from the machine 5l, and roller 66 drives roller 65 by means of a chain 1!] and sprockets H, the two belts 52 and 63 being thus driven in proper direction to feed the materials through the outlets l2 and 13 of the compartments C and C Associated with these outlets are vertically adjustable plates 14 and T5 corresponding to the plate 25 above described, said plates having downwardly and inwardly curved lower portions 14' and 15 having the same function as the plate portion 28 above described. The belts 62 and 53 have sealing ribs 16 corresponding to the ribs 22 above described, and said belts are provided also with V-belts TI engaging grooves in the various rollers and having the same function as the belts 25 above explained.-

In the present disclosure, the lower edges of the two box side walls 54 are each provided with a front half 18 downwardly offset from its rear half 79, and there is a vertical edge 8!! connecting said halves I8 and 79. Extending transversely of the machine between the two vertical edges and secured to the side walls 54, is a vertical plate 8| which carries the plate 14, the upper edge of said plate .8! having a rearwardly projecting flange 82 which extends along the inner portions of the edges 19 into overlying relation with the roller 66. The hinge 58 for the partition 51 is at the rear edge of this flange.

I have disclosed two flexible strips 83 and 84 secured to the wall 55 and the partition 51 respectively, said strips lying upon the upper reaches of thebelts 62 and 63 and providing seals in the same manner as that formed by the strip 23 above described.

For the driving means for roller 61, see Fig. 5. From this view, it will be seen that a shaft 85 is mounted at the outer side of the box end wall 56, said shaft being connected by gearing 86 with a short shaft 81, the latter being operatively connected with the shaft 88 of roller 61, by means of a chain'89 and sprockets 90. Loose on shaft 85 is a sprocket wheel 9| driven by a chain 92 and another sprocket 93 from the machine Sprocket 9| is provided with a clutch member 94 cooperable with a shiftable clutch member 95 which is splined on the shaft 85. A lever 96 corresponding to the lever 4| above described, is provided for shifting the clutch member95 to engage or disengage the clutch and thusfdrive or stop the belts 62 and 63 as required. A gate 91 is operatively connected by means of a rock shaft 98, suitable means 99 at the upper end of said rock shaft, and suitable means I00 at the lower end thereof, with the lever 96. The gate 91 controls the hydraulic cement outlet 13 and is closed automatically when lever 96 stops the drive, and is opened automatically when said lever starts the drive. The mechanism 98, 99 and I99 corresponds to that above described, shown more particularly in Fig. 1.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has been made for carrying out the objects of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the present disclosure is illustrative only and that within the scope of the invention as claimed, numerous variations may be made. When the machine is made for spreading a powder-like material such as dry hydraulic cement, the powder feeding belt is only a few inches from the ground, preventing wind from causing any appreciable blowing of the powder as it descends, and after it is once spread, it is affected little by wind.

I claim:

1. In a machine for spreading dry hydraulic i cement in a uniform layer upon the ground, a mobile frame, a bottomless box mounted on said frame to contain the cement to be spread. said box having two longitudinal side walls and two transverse walls, a belt mounted under said box and having an upper reach which directly supports the cement at all times, said belt consisting of continuous sheet material to prevent any of the cement from sifting therethrough, means for driving said belt to move said upper reach toward one of said transverse walls, this one wall being provided with a lower portion directed inwardly and downwardly with respect to the rest of said wall and terminating in upwardly spaced relation with said upper belt reach to leave a discharge slot for the cement, said inwardly and downwardly directed lower portion of said one wall being effective to upwardly and inwardly roll the cement forced against it by said upper belt reach, preventing packing of the cement in this region and causing the rolling action to spread upwardly and inwardly to other regions, keeping the cement in the box loose for proper discharge, and sealing means for preventing the loose cement from sifting between the belt and the other transverse and longitudinal walls of said box.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1; said inwardly and downwardly directed lower portion of said one wall consisting of a plate separate from the major portion of said one wall, and means whereby said plate may be vertically adjusted to vary the size of said discharge slot.

3. In a spreader for powdered material, a powder box, a driven belt whose upper reach forms a bottom for said box and discharges the powder, said belt consisting of continuous sheetmaterial to prevent sifting of powder therethrough, one wall of said box toward which said upper reach travels being provided with a lower portion directed inwardly anddownwardly with respect to the rest of saidwall and terminating in upwardly spaced relation with said upper belt reach to leave a discharge slot for the cement, said inwardlyand downwardly directed lower portion of said one wall being effective to upwardly and inwardly rollthe powder forced against it by said upper belt reach, preventing packing of the powder in this region and causing the rolling action to spread upwardly and inwardly to other regions, keeping the powder loose for proper discharge. i

4. A structure as specified in claim 3; said inwardly and downwardly directed portion of said one wall consisting of a vertical plate separate from the remainder of said wall, and means whereby said plate may be vertically adjusted to vary the size of said discharge slot.

5. In a material spreader, a box for the mate rial, a driven belt whose upper reach forms a bottom for said box, means for guiding and driving said belt to cause it to discharge material from said box, said box being provided with parallel side walls directly overlying the longitudinal edge portions of said upper belt reach, said parallel side walls having vertical surfaces, and two continuous ribs on the outer side of said belt and ex-' tending along the longitudinal edge portions thereof, said ribs having vertical surfaces contacting slidably with said vertical surfaces of said parallel side walls to form seals and prevent loss of material from the box between the lower edges of said side walls and said upper belt reach.

6. A structure as specified in claim 5; together with additional belts secured to the inner side of the first mentioned belt directly opposite said ribs, said guiding and driving means for said first mentioned belt having grooves receiving said additional belts, preventing said first mentioned belt from crawling transversely.

7. In a material spreading machine, a box for the material, said box having a material outlet, a belt whose upper reach forms a bottom for said box and discharges the material through said outlet, driving means for said" belt, said driving means including a clutch, a gate for said outlet, and operating means operative to automatically close said gate simultaneously with disengagement of said clutch.

8. In a material spreading machine, a box for the material, said box having a material outlet, a belt whose upper reach forms a bottom for said box and discharges the material through said outlet, driving means for said belt, said driving means including a clutch, a gate for said outlet, and operating means operative to automatically close said gate simultaneously with disengagement of said clutch and to automatically open said gate simultaneously with engagement of said clutch.

9. In a material spreading machine, a box for the material, said box having a material outlet, a belt whose upper reach forms a bottom for said box and discharges the material through said outlet, driving means for said belt including a clutch, a gate for said outlet, an operating member for said clutch and said gate, and operating connections from said operating member to said clutch and gate for automatically closing said gate simultaneously with disengagement of said clutch.

10. In a material spreading machine, a box for the material, said box having a material outlet, a belt whose upper reach forms a bottom for said box and discharges the material through said outlet, driving means for saidbelt including a clutch, a gate for said outlet, an operating member for said clutch and said gate, and operating connections from said operating member to said clutch and gate for automatically closing said gate simultaneously with disengagement of said clutch and for automatically opening said gate simultaneously with engagement of said clutch.

, 11. In a mobile spreading machine, front and rear hoppers for two different materials, front and rear endless belts having upper reaches which support the material contained in said front and rear hoppers respectively, said hoppers and belts being of extensive Width, said hoppers having outlets throughwhich said upper belt reaches discharge the two different materials the space between said outlets and the ground being unobstructed to permit discharge of the mate- 'rials in two contacting layers upon the ground,

a truck, means connected with said partition 0 for swinging it from said one compartment back to its normal position, and feed means for feeding the compartment contents through said outlets.

13. A spreader comprising a box for the material to be spread, an endless belt the upper reach of which forms a bottom for said box and. feeds the material toward one wall of said box, said wall terminating above said upperbelt reach to leave a discharge slot for'the material, guiding and driving means for said belt including a roller under said discharge slot and around which the belt curves downwardly to its lower reach, a substantially vertical gate for said discharge slot disposed at the lower end of said wall, a suspending hinge for said gate disposed at the upper, edge thereof, said gate extending downwardly sufficiently for its inner side to lie against said downwardly curved portion of said belt when said gate is closed, and means for holding said gate in open and closed positions,

14. In a mobile spreading machine, a bottomless box having two side walls, a front Wall, and a rear wall, the lower edges of said side walls each having substantially half its length downwardly offset from its other half and connected thereto by a vertical edge, a fixed vertical plate extending transversely of the machine and having its ends secured to said side walls at said vertical edges, said plate having a flange at its upper edge secured to said side walls at the inner ends of the uppermost portions of their lower edges, a transverse partition extending upwardly from said flange and dividing said box into front and rear material-carrying compartments, front and rear endless belts having upper reaches which support the contents of said compartments respectively, said compartments having outlets through which said upper belt reaches discharge the contents from said compartments, means for mounting said belts with said upper reaches thereof extending along the upper and lower portions of said lower edges of said side walls, and means for driving said belts.

BENJAMIN H. FLYNN. 

